Tuesday, February 16, 2016

Build your own app with Google

If you’re a student with a great idea for a mobile app, here’s your chance to make money. AdMob, Google’s mobile advertising platform specifically designed for mobile apps, is inviting entries for the 2016 AdMob Student App Challenge.

ISTOCKWinners will visit Google’s headquarters in California. The winning app will feature on the Google Play Store.

To compete, applicants need to register their team of not more than five people. If you are looking for other students to join your team, you can visit collabfinder.com.

The second step is to build your app. Once this is done, it’s time to promote the app so that people can see it and start using it. Then, submit the app to Google play Store or Apple’s App Store.

After approvals, send your mobile app to Google by using a form available at www.google. com/admob/mobile-app-submission.html and also submit your business report. The last date for submission is June 28, 2016.

In the first round, teams will earn points for user ratings, downloads and other factors. The top ten teams from each of the four regions – North America, Latin America, Europe, Middle East and Africa, and Asia Pacific will advance to the next round where the overall qualities of the app will be assessed, including its design and intuitiveness, its value to users, and other factors listed in the terms and conditions.

One finalist will be chosen from each region (four regional finalists in total) to advance to the final round. Finally, the panel of six independent judges will review the regional finalists’ business reports and award the grand prize to one team.

The grand prize winner will enjoy a week-long trip to Google’s headquarters in Mountain View and take home a nifty bag of goodies, including a Google device.

Four regional finalists will take home Google devices and have their app featured on the AdMob website. For more information, visit www.google. com/admob/challenge.html

There’s an app for that

BEYOND BOOKS To prepare for the upcoming board exams, Class 12 science students are using mobile apps and YouTube channels that break down experiments, have quizzes and question banks, and aid last-minute revision

Students often use websites for question banks. Apps for study are a great idea, but it does depend on how one uses them. If not used sensibly, it can be a big source of distraction as well. MANJU NICHANI, principal of KC College, Churchgate

With her Class 12 board exams just a few weeks away, Sharanya Hegde, a student from New Horizon Public School, Airoli, is busy with last-minute revision. To help jog her memory, she has traded in textbooks for technology.

“I watch videos related to my math and physics syllabus on YouTube,” she says. “Since I need to work harder at physics, I use videos on Khan Academy for topics on integration, and professor Pradeep Kshetrapal’s YouTube channel for electrostatics. This helps me revise my concepts.”

Another Class 12 student, at Royal Junior College in Dombivli, Shivani Deshmukh, says, “I use an app called Robomate, which has lecture videos for physics, chemistry and math. It also contains test papers and chapter summaries — it’s convenient, because I can study these on my way to and from college, on a portable tablet.”

Like Hegde and Deshmukh, several Class 12 students preparing for the upcoming board exams are using new apps, YouTube channels and websites to grasp the syllabus better.

“The best thing about such channels is that they promote self-learning,” says Dhrubesh Deb Sharma, 18, a first-year engineering student of SRM University, Chennai. “I studied organic chemistry and nomenclature through the videos. In school, they would skim through the surface of the syllabus. Here, they would explain each topic in detail, so you really understand what you’re learning.”

Particularly for science students, the practical components of the exams carry substantial weight. “We get to perform each experiment just once in the college laboratory, and that is often not enough. In these videos, the practical experiments are performed live and explained in detail, and going through them a few times before the exam can help refresh your memory,” says Shweta Kuse, Class 12 student of Holy Angels School and Junior College, Dombivli.

While students are using technology for self-study, colleges, too, are turning to it as a teaching tool.

“We use YouTube to discuss case studies with the students, and we share PowerPoint presentations about various subjects through Google Groups for students,” says Indu Shahani, principal of HR College in Churchgate. “We find that this is an effective method that keeps students engaged.”

Counsellors say students can create Facebook or WhatsApp groups with classmates and teachers to discuss doubts. When on study break, students can contact teachers via video conference and create a virtual classroom.

“YouTube is very informative, especially for practical experiments, as you can learn outside the labs as well,” says Shilpa Pathak, counsellor at RN Podar School in Khar (West).

With a few weeks to go for the board exams, here are some apps and YouTube channels you can check out for your final leg of preparation.

TOPPR LEARNING

What: A YouTube channel for HSC and CBSE physics practicals

How i t works: If physics practicals are all Greek to you, and converting galvanometer to voltmeter seems alien, this channel may be your answer. It breaks the experiments down with simple l anguage, and demonstrates live experiments with school-grade equipment.

The practicals are designed to be the same as what is to be taught in the syllabus. The channel is a couple of months old, and clocks more than 5,000 views on most videos.

“I used Toppr Learning to study for the practical component of the exams, and it was great. I had missed some practical sessions in school and had some doubts about those concepts, but the videos helped clear them up. Also, they use the same apparatus as we do in school, so there was little confusion,” says Swayam Pal, Class 11 student of DAV Public School, Panvel.

Where: bit.ly/1R6a5Wb

CBSE PRACTICALS

What: A YouTube channel dedicated to CBSE students, to help them prepare for physics and chemistry practicals

How it works: The video usually begins by explaining the theory on which the experiment is based. With animated videos and live demonstrations, experiments are explained in simple terms. The channel also links viewers to related videos and topics.

CBSE Practicals was launched in September 2015, and has about 5,000 subscribers.

“Because of large class sizes in college, it is difficult to approach professors for every doubt,” says Kuse of Holy Angels school. “We only got the chance to perform each experiment once, and I used the CBSE Practicals and other YouTube channels to revise them.”

Where: bit.ly/1Tlnn39

EDUNOVUS ONLINE

What: For physics and chemistry, CBSE and state-board Class 12 exams

How it works: The videos use a combination of demonstration and animation. Some videos also show related experiments that may not be in the syllabus, but enhance a student’s understanding of a particular concept.

“Physics and chemistry both have theories that are complicated and can be better learned using animation,” says Sagar Malasani, director of Edunovus Online. “Animation helps simplify concepts, and allows for better recall. We have experienced lecturers on board to help formulate the content.”

What: An app built by online learning portal MeritNation, and aimed at students of Class 6 to Class 12, of CBSE and ICSE boards

How it works: Much like the MeritNation website, the app includes solution papers to help revision in the final weeks.

The app, with about 10 lakh downloads, lets you take tests, and provides you with percentile score, so you understand where you stand with respect to other students also taking the tests. It also holds more than 14,000 videos on concepts that are part of the CBSE syllabus.

Once you understand the concept, you can take an unlimited number of same question papers to test yourself.

“For last-minute preparation, our app has revision notes, study material and sample papers,” says Prayag Panchwadkar, vice-president, marketing, MeritNation, which has five apps on the Google Play Store. “The idea is to help students learn on-the-go, on their cellphones or tablets.”

“I have been using the app for quite some time, and find the expert answer section — where students can post questions and get answers — particularly useful. The app also has easy solutions to NCERT questions,” says Jahanavi Dahanke, Class 12 student of Kendriya Vidyalaya, Nagpur. Cost: Free

Where: Available on Android

and iOS

ORGANIC CHEMISTRY

What: Covers topics related to organic chemistry

How it works: While the app is not tailored to the syllabus of any particular board, it features more than 70 organic reactions and their properties, explains complicated reactions, including alkanes and alkenes benzene, phenol and diazonium salts. It also has chapters on naming compounds and isomerism, important in the Class 12 chemistry syllabus.

“Organic chemistry is a vast topic, but this app helps break it down. The mechanisms and reactions are explained with colour-coded text, which makes it easy to understand. Using the app helped clear my doubts,” says Shreya Mandal, 18, Class 12 student at DAV Public School, Panvel.

More Than 90 Percent Of College Students Prefer Reading Paper Books Over E-Books

A four-year survey found that 92 percent of university student still choose reading on paper instead of screen. E-books are definitely much cheaper, which is the main reason why most students get the digital copies instead of the traditional paper versions.(Photo : Francisco Osorio | Flickr)

Researchers asked more than 420 university students from the U.S., Slovakia, Japan and Germany in 2010 and 2013. They found that 92 percent preferred paper books instead of e-books. The survey was part of the book research from American University's linguistics professor Naomi Baron who penned Words Onscreen: The Fate of Reading in a Digital World.

In 2010, the team found that 92 percent of college students in the U.S. favored the paper book version over the e-book version. About 95 percent of German students and 77 percent of Japanese student said the same.

The team also found that the main reason why students used e-books was because they were cheaper than the traditional paper book versions. It wasn't always because it was easier to use or lighter to carry but some of the survey's open answers included space saving reasons and convenience. When it comes to preference, paper trumps the screen.

The team got the same figures in its 2013 survey. Researchers found that if paper books and e-books for leisure cost the same. About 80 percent across the three countries (U.S., Japan and Germany) will still prefer the paper book variant. As for the academic paper books and e-books, about 94 percent of university students in Germany would go for the paper version if the prices are the same.

Those who preferred the digital versions said they were concerned about the environmental consequences that paper books carry, for instance, cutting down trees for the books' raw materials. In 2010, 21 percent of the participants said being eco-friendly was their main reason for getting the digital version.

Baron's new book looks into technology's impact on reading and learning habits around the world. In her interview with New Republic, reporter Alice Robb asked her why she thinks young people still prefer paper books when this demographic is the most adapted to doing things on screen.

Baron said young people are resistant to e-books because they say they are distracted and they had to deal with headaches and physical discomfort such as eyestrain when reading e-book versions of college books.

When her team surveyed Slovakian students, one out of ten said they enjoyed the smell of books when reading in hard copy. There were also other student show said they get this sense of accomplishment when they finish reading a paper book and they want to see it on the bookshelf.

"There really is a physical, tactile, kinesthetic component to reading," said Baron during the New Republic interview.

When it comes to light reading, such as news and other feature articles wherein visual components cover most of the pages, reading on screen seems to be the better choice. However, when it comes to reading best sellers or academic books for school papers, traditional paper text books still rule.

Plagiarise and be damned — a brain perspective

Just copying and not thinking out-of-the-box may hamper some of the creative brain functions

Japanese medical articles are some of the best in terms of research worth, but when it comes to English grammar use, they could be dicey. And that’s precisely what helped me pin down the culprit. An article written by an Indian author, sent to me by the journal editor for review, reminded me of the odd grammar I had seen before. The local author had not even taken the trouble to correct the grammar. Most of the article was copied; it was a clear case of plagiarism by any reckoning.

My son was sitting on the other side of the table doing his homework, my wife trying to convince him something. His high-pitched voice in defence caught my attention: “Teacher told us to copy exactly what she taught; otherwise, she won’t give full marks.” On one side of the table, copying is being penalised, while on the other, it is being actively promoted!

Plagiarism is not a new phenomenon. In 1934, the Merriam Webster’s Dictionary cited a new word “Dord”, meaning density. By the turn of the year, the chemistry editor informed the printer that such a word did not exist. The actual entry suggested was ‘D’ or ‘d’ for density, but because of a printing error, the new “ghost” word “Dord” came up. Surprisingly, the entry was not changed till 1947 — one probable reason cited was to prevent plagiarism. Any printer trying to copy the dictionary would inadvertently copy the “ghost” word and leave a clue to his crime. Map-makers used this technique even earlier, inserting a non-existent “paper-town” in the map to catch the unlawful copier.

Today, we have software that can pick up more than a 10-word or a three-sentence match of any published material to catch a plagiarist red-handed.

But isn’t copying a survival instinct in nature? Take the case of Tian Tian, a celebrity at Edinburgh. Her marriage never made the headlines, but in October 2014, her pregnancy, and the subsequent loss of it, did. Given the fact that the time-window “season” when a female giant panda can become pregnant is just 36 hours in an entire year, pregnancy is a big event even for the giant panda in the wild, but in captivity, it is distinctly rare. Her keepers at the Edinburgh zoo were in mourning.

An E. coli bacterium, in contrast, measures 2 micron in length and 0.5 in breadth. Tweeze out one under a 100X microscope, put it in a sterile culture medium and wait for just 24 hours. The culture media would be teeming with millions of them. No romance, no dating, no candlelight, mere multiplication for the sake of survival. Copying to survive. An organism that copies better, survives. That’s why there are 20 billion E. coli in the normal human gut, while the number of giant pandas is just 1,864 at last count.

Functional magnetic resonance imaging (f-MRI) is a revolutionary imaging technique that detects brain neuronal activity and blood flow simultaneously and in real time. These help scientists see which areas of the brain are active during specific brain activity. The enjoyable, limitless mystery of the human mind suddenly seemed to be mapped, fenced and notified.

Martn Lotze of Greifswald University, Germany, did some out-of-the-box experiments with writers. One group was simply asked to copy a text; in that group, the f-MRI showed minimal brain activity. The area of the cerebral cortex, which handles linguistic and writing skills, lit up as expected. The other group was asked to churn out a story of their own. They showed lighting up of larger areas of brain, which by itself is not unexpected given that creating a story needs more brain work. Surprisingly, in the creative group, a seahorse-shaped structure called hippocampus, which controls memory, and the visual cortex also showed increased activity. This did not happen in the copying (plagiarising) group. This means that during the creation of a plot they seemed to be observing the storyline as a movie in the inner amphitheatre of their mind, regulated by what they have learnt before. It is hypothesised that students who are strictly taught to copy and not think out-of-the-box might have a lesser-enabled hippocampus-visual concordance. They may be better copyists, but poor creators.

Next time an editor sees a plagiarised article, while sending the usual harsh letter to the author, maybe even black-listing him or her, a copy ought to be sent to the plagiarist’s schoolteacher as well. She may well be our long-term hope for reducing plagiarism.